No. 7 Sun Devil water polo nabbed ninth place at the UC Irvine Invitational tournament by sweeping the second day of play.
ASU is effectively defeating the middle-tier teams, but has not quite overcome the toughest teams that it must beat to attain elite and tournament champion status.
The Sun Devils continued their outstanding defense over the weekend in which they did not allow more than six goals over the four games.
The first matchup pitted ASU against UC San Diego, a team just coming off of a win against LMU and a narrow loss to UC Davis.
Both teams scored once in the first quarter before ASU got its offensive engine started. It poured in four goals in the second quarter, taking a 5-3 lead at halftime.
The Sun Devils continued to score at high volumes in the second half by adding on four more goals while only conceding two, effectively sealing the victory.
The balanced offense helped ASU in this game as four different players scored two goals each and a fifth scorer, freshman attacker, Maud Koopman, added another goal as well.
In game two, ASU matched up against a formidable opponent in San Jose State who tested the Sun Devils in the fourth quarter with its quick scoring.
Though the fourth quarter was tough, ASU came off to a lead. After the first half, the Sun Devils led 4-2, a score that is usually manageable for the stingy Sun Devil defense.
However, the Spartans stormed back in the fourth quarter by scoring three quick goals and cutting the deficit down to 7-6.
Sun Devil goalie Mia Rycraw was able to hold off a comeback by SJSU while racking up nine saves.
Senior attacker, Daisy Carter, carried the offense by recording a hat trick in the matchup. Redshirt senior, Ao Gao, scored two goals as well helping to elevate the team.
After winning three out of four games in the UCI Invitational tournament, the Sun Devils will look to build on this momentum and its 7-3 record when they square off against Pac-12 rival and No. 1 team in the nation, USC.
The sure-to-be intense matchup takes place on March 5 at 1 p.m. at the Mona Plummer Aquatics Center in Tempe.
Related Links:
ASU water polo looks to UCI Tournament, could face No. 1 USC
ASU water polo looks for consistency ahead of UCI tournament
Reach the reporter at Graham.Paul@asu.edu or follow @GrahamASUpress on Twitter.
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